


Temperance

by SnowyDawn17



Series: Ironqrow Stuff [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: But it's gonna be there, Canon Typical Violence, Eventual Ironqrow, It'll take a while, Qrow does a dumb, Qrow does the swearing, RWBY spoilers, Volume 3 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-20 20:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6023206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowyDawn17/pseuds/SnowyDawn17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Qrow gets himself into a spot of trouble he can't get himself out of. Mainly because they took his scythe. Jerks.</p><p>Eventual Ironqrow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea when this happens in canon, honestly. It’s pre-volume 3 chapter 11, but goes on further down its own timeline and stuff in canon is kinda...ignored/glossed over? You’ll see when we get there.

Qrow lowered his flask and shook it lightly, judging by the sound that he had just under half of it left. He shrugged and took another sip. The next town - and, therefore, the next bar - wasn’t for a good few miles, but he could manage. Plus, he deserved this. Atlas was a cold place, and nothing warmed the body like a good shot of alcohol. When he got back to Beacon , he was taking a day or two off, regardless of what Oz said. Heh. What the man didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, though Qrow knew Oz would figure out he stalled for a few days anyways. Qrow didn’t know how, but it was just a fact of life at this point: the sky is blue, the ocean is wet, and Ozpin knows everything.

Well, most everything. There was a reason he was out in the middle of an Atlesian forest, after all. 

The lead they had gotten hadn’t actually amounted to much, in Qrow’s opinion, but you never know what Ozpin might find useful. Most everyone at the base he had been stationed at for the past few weeks was only following orders from their higher-ups, who were following orders from THEIR higher-ups, who were following orders…

They had a very long chain of command.

Qrow took another long sip from his flask and stood up, pressing a hand into the rough bark of the tree he had been sitting by. Gathering his rather small amount of supplies, he prepared to continue on. He could, technically, fly to the nearest town - would be easier for a number of reasons - but flying drunk was never a...pleasant experience. Qrow could do it, no doubt. But though the alcohol had very little impact on his ability to function as a human, it was over a hundred times worse in his much smaller crow body. Short distances he could handle no problem, but several straight miles in an Atlesian winter? That was pushing it, and Qrow would much rather walk for a while and made it to an inn than be forced to make due in the tree he would inevitably crash into. So, he readjusted his sword-scythe and began walking once more.

It took him a minute or so to realize something was wrong, and Qrow wasn’t sure whether to blame his own lack of vigilance or his pursuers’ own stealth skills. At a loud crash of snow and a muffled complaint, he winced. Nope, this was definitely on him. In any other location, he could pretty easily lose whoever was following, but he was in Atlas. In a forest. In the winter. Qrow wouldn’t be able to lose them on foot, not after they had gotten this close, and it would be pretty easy to spot a crow amidst all the open white. Damn.

If he missed his plane, he was blaming this all on James. He knew the man had nothing to do with this, knew the man couldn’t control the weather and had nothing to do with the situation. But James Ironwood was basically the sole leader of Atlas, so this had to be his fault somehow. He would figure out the specifics later, after he made sure whoever it was wouldn’t be able to follow him.

He should have known by now to not be that overconfident.

He didn’t stop to unfold his sword, grabbing the handle and diving forward into a roll. A loud thud shook the ground where he had just been standing, and snow flew into the air in all directions. Qrow pivoted and jumped to the left the moment he got out of the roll, shaking snow from his eyes. He raised his weapon in sword form to meet his opponent, and took a moment to assess the person he was to fight.

Er.

The persons he was to fight. There were a three of them. Two looked like your average everyday goons, the people Qrow tended to spend the most time with when on missions like these. The third was obviously in charge, and even looked a little familiar…? Oh, crap. As Qrow glanced over the man’s businessman-like attire, he realized where he had seen the extremely buff man before. That man was in charge of the base he had just infiltrated.

He never did much work, and Qrow had never actually caught his name. No one ever really mentioned it, and if they had Qrow clearly hadn’t been paying enough attention. The brown-haired, green-eyed man didn’t have the answers he needed, so he wasn’t important. Until now, apparently. 

Green met red, and Qrow would have been tempted to make a joke about Christmas if the man’s short sentence hadn’t taken his full attention. 

"We don’ take kindly to spies ‘round here.”

Well, shit. He had been compromised. They were never gonna let him live down this report, were they?

The two goons charged in some sort of flanking attempt while the boss jumped high, apparently intent on smashing him into the ground with his comparatively small gun. Qrow jumped as well, letting the two men crash into each other as he met the boss’ gun with his blade. The brown-haired man’s momentum carried them backwards, but Qrow managed to spin them around so he didn’t land crushed in the snow.

He stood up and took a few steps back, glancing around for the other two men who had...disappeared? The larger man started chuckling from where he was slowly pulling himself up, one hand on his knees. “Not as observant as ya like to think, huh?”

Before Qrow could try and decipher that statement, his sword was once again between him and the large man’s gun. The two seemed evenly matched for a few seconds, and then his opponent pulled back. The sudden loss of force caused Qrow to overbalance. Before he could berate himself for his rookie mistake, he was tossed to the side with incredible force. 

Qrow flew into a tree, which surprisingly didn’t break. He looked up, expecting to find his opponent within punching distance. Instead, the man stood several yards away, and coming up beside him was...a woman? A woman, who was holding a very strange bow. It looked like several squares of wood tied together. How did it stay together?

Qrow moved to get up, reaching for the sword that lay a few inches outside of his reach only to find his arm wasn’t responding. His left arm was pinned to the tree by an arrow, which he presumed must have been what slung him over here in the first place. Qrow shrugged his shoulder, expecting his arm to move forward with the motion and dislodge the arrow.

His arm did not move. 

Frowning, Qrow tried again. His arm wasn’t responding, and was going slightly numb. His shoulder, too, was beginning to get that uncomfortable pins-and-needle feeling. He reached over with his right hand to pull the arrow from his shirt - Qrow was adaptable, he could fight right-handed if need be. But as soon as his hand touched the arrow, it went slack. Pins-and-needles began crawling down his right arm, too, and Qrow could do nothing but frantically try and pull himself up without the use of either arm. 

He didn’t notice the man and woman approaching him. Not until they were blocking out the sun, anyways. Before he could lash out at them, the man swung his arm high, and brought it down heavily on Qrow's skull. A spark of white faded to black, and he knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need a better name for this series.

Qrow wasn’t aware of his return to consciousness. One moment he was sleeping - not blissfully or anything, but he was actually asleep for once - and the next he was doing his damndest to not cry out. He hadn’t had his aura broken in a long while, but then again he hadn’t fought actual people in a while either. Grimm, yes, but certainly not people, with their own weapons and semblances and the ability to properly strategize. He fought a grimace. Jimmy would have a field day lecturing him about this later. As much as he respected the man, Qrow could damn well tell when he messed up. He wasn’t a student to be criticized. 

He was drawn from his thoughts by the hiss of a door opening. As he turned his gaze to follow the noise, he realized belatedly that he was, in fact, tied to a chair. Huh. He probably should have noticed that earlier, not that it would have helped him much. Regardless, there was a person standing in front of him now. They didn’t speak, apparently waiting for Qrow to make the first move. This gave him a number of opportunities: ask questions rapid-fire, demand to know what was going on, that sort of thing. Or…

After a few tense seconds, Qrow raised his head. The man that stood before him looked barely out of his teens and well over thirty all at once. Probably something in the eyes, which were a pale ice blue and definitely gave off the impression of knowing more than you do. His arms were crossed and he was looking down at Qrow with furrowed eyebrows, very obviously trying to not speak. Add that to the very poor attempt at tying him up, and Qrow came to the conclusion that these people had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Had they really never had to deal with a spy before?

They were at least five minutes into this staring contest, and the only thing that had changed was the small, deliberate raising of Qrow’s eyebrow. He purposefully blinked slowly, making a silent show out of his acknowledgement of the situation. Qrow could practically feel the tension as the ‘interrogator’ narrowed his eyes, his frustration bubbling up and ove-

Qrow let out a small grunt as his head was thrown forward, having been smacked from behind. With a shake of his head Qrow looked up once more, only to be greeted by a grand total of four people now instead of one. Mr. Bossman now stood beside Ice-Eyes, and was probably the one who hit him. Unsurprising, really. Behind them, standing neatly near the corner, was the woman with the strange bow. At the moment, though, the bow was nowhere to be seen. Instead she seemed to be messing around with a...Jacob’s Ladder? Was that what those were called? Six squares of wood tied together with string...wait a second. 

He wasn’t able to follow that train of thought as the duo closer to him began speaking, which his brain decided might be important to listen to. “-aid before, we don’ take kindl’ ta spies,” Bossman was saying, seemingly unaware of Qrow’s disinterest. Before he could continue, Qrow decided that yes, being an asshole would be more fun here. 

“What gives you the idea that I’m a spy?” he questioned, interrupting. “Do I remind you of some movie actor or somethin’?” Mission accomplished. Wait, no - he added a small, lopsided smirk. Theeeere it was. His ability to get people this ticked off was practically a second semblance considering how easily he weaponized it. 

A warning hand from Icy calmed the man down just a little. He was still plenty ready to punch Qrow’s face in, probably - just a general vibe he got from the man - but the blue-eyed man was clearly in control here. How’d Big Boss even get his job if he was this easy to rile up?

“What is your purpose here?” the calmer one said, turning his glare towards Qrow once again. Aw, were they just going to ignore everything he said unless it answered their questions? That was no fun. He could just not answer, but he had already spoken. Plus, him? Qrow Branwen, NOT responding with a sarcastic comment? Simply unthinkable. 

With a shrug, he answered them “I’m here cuz you dragged me here for no real reason, apparently. Pretty rude of you, I might add.” 

Their almost-banter went on for quite a while, Qrow was sure. He didn’t really have a method of measuring time without a clock or the sky, but it certainly felt like a few hours of verbal dancing. In the end, nothing was established. Qrow gathered that Blue-Eyes was indeed the calm “brains” and BB was anger personified, but nothing else. The girl with the Jacob’s Ladder hadn’t spoken at all during the entire spectacle, and neither had the fourth person Qrow had nearly forgotten about. They were dressed in casual grunt attire, making it difficult for Qrow to pick out any real defining features. 

Eventually, the group left. Qrow had managed to annoy Mr. Calm and Collected by the end of the “session”, which he counted as a victory in his favor. He and his boss walked out together, probably trying to come up with some way to get Qrow to talk without being a smartass. The dark-haired girl who had shot him was right behind them, never once even looking at Qrow. Lastly was the grunt person, who Qrow had been trying to figure out for a while now. There didn’t seem to be a reason for them to be there, but they had to have some purpose. People don’t go into prisoner cells or interrogation rooms without reason. 

Just before passing out of his sight, the uniformed person winked at him. Qrow’s eyes narrowed slightly before a small grin broke out. They were gone before he could acknowledge them, the door hissing shut as Qrow let himself relax slightly. 

After all, he wasn’t the only spy Oz’s network.


End file.
